(no subject)
a woman should learn in quietness and full submission. i do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man; she must be silent. for adam was formed first, then eve. and adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. but women will be saved through childbearing- if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
1 timothy 2:11-15
this is certainly an interesting section of scripture. a cursory reading of this passage seems to state that women have no place in the flow of public worship- especially when combined with 1 corinthians 14:34-35, which says that women are wait until they get home to ask their husbands any questions that they may have and not to talk in the church. however, once the context and the overall direction of scripture is considered, this interpretation is shown to be false.
women are clearly given spiritual gifts (such as prophecy and tongues) and are allowed to exercise them in public (1 corinthians 11:5, 1 corinthians 14:26). listed among the spiritual gifts in 1 corinthians 12:8-10, 12:28) is teaching. teaching is differentiated from wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, administrative skills, etc. (something interesting to note is that the lists of spiritual gifts even within the same letter do not contain the same gifts- as though paul was listing whichever gifts came to his mind rather than repeating a definite and limited list.) this shows that someone who prophecies or gives wisdom is not (unless given both gifts by the Holy Spirit) someone who is a teacher.
according to 1 timothy 3:16, teaching is based on scripture and focused on training in righteousness. is there anything prohibiting women from teaching in general? no. in fact, women are called to teach other women (2 timothy 2:3-5) and timothy himself was influenced greatly by female mentors (2 timothy 1:5, 3:14) and there are examples such as priscilla who were involved in explaining God's ways (acts 18:26). however, to what extent does the woman exercise authority?
paul refers to the order of creation to explain his position of male headship (1 timothy 2:13, 1 corinthians 11:8-9). in the genesis account (chapter 2), the LORD creates all the creatures of the earth and entrusts adam with the care of the garden of eden (2:15). but there was something missing - woman. so God created woman from adam...in a manner that causes woman and man to be intertwined at the base of their existence...truly 'flesh of my flesh' (2:23). eve was created to be a helper to adam- to support, encourage, correct, and empower him to live the life that God desired for him.
in the above passage from 1 timothy, paul also talks about the deception of eve (genesis 3). it is interesting to note that the serpent approached eve rather than adam. also interesting that eve did not stop to confer with adam about disobeying God's directive or that adam - who was with her at the time that she took the fruit - did not question her actions. do i believe that the serpent came to eve because she is more easily deceived? no. i believe that the serpent approached her because he could use the fact that she was submissive to her husband against her - meaning getting her to go out and make this desicion (with such tremendous consequences) without consulting her husband rather than allowing adam to make the 'executive decision'. perhaps eve was chaffing under this direction of her husband and perhaps not. but the fact that God calls out adam (3:9,11) and asks him what happened rather than eve, even though eve was the one to sin first. this points to adam being the one in charge, the one who carries the responsibility for the path that the family travels down.
this ties in with feminine submission...which is the point of the passage in 1 timothy. that women are to submit to the leadership of men. this concept is reinforced through ephesians 5:22-33. even though it deals specifically with husbands and wives, the call for women to respect their husbands is clear (5:33) and reflects the call to men to be leaders. to lead effectively, you must feel respected. following this is the realization that all female-male relationships should contain the same hierarchy...though you are not to submit to a man who is your coworker as you do to your husband or to your pastor, etc.
as for the final verse in the above passage, which seems to state that salvation is given through being a mother, paul is not referring to st. mary carrying Jesus as some people interpret it as. paul places the emphasis on the second part of the verse...on their faith, which is truly where salvation comes from. for women who are barren are surely saved. childbearing is a part of being a married, responsible woman - which was something that was an issue in the church that paul was writing to, which explains the motivation for bringing it up...to encourage the women to settle down and live lifes that were glorifying to God.
wow...that's a lot of typing...i'm learning a lot about male/female relationships, especially in marriage. and so it's a bit jumbled in my mind and doesn't flow out very clearly as i'm still processing and then adding more in all the time. it's a good time. =)
karen
1 timothy 2:11-15
this is certainly an interesting section of scripture. a cursory reading of this passage seems to state that women have no place in the flow of public worship- especially when combined with 1 corinthians 14:34-35, which says that women are wait until they get home to ask their husbands any questions that they may have and not to talk in the church. however, once the context and the overall direction of scripture is considered, this interpretation is shown to be false.
women are clearly given spiritual gifts (such as prophecy and tongues) and are allowed to exercise them in public (1 corinthians 11:5, 1 corinthians 14:26). listed among the spiritual gifts in 1 corinthians 12:8-10, 12:28) is teaching. teaching is differentiated from wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, administrative skills, etc. (something interesting to note is that the lists of spiritual gifts even within the same letter do not contain the same gifts- as though paul was listing whichever gifts came to his mind rather than repeating a definite and limited list.) this shows that someone who prophecies or gives wisdom is not (unless given both gifts by the Holy Spirit) someone who is a teacher.
according to 1 timothy 3:16, teaching is based on scripture and focused on training in righteousness. is there anything prohibiting women from teaching in general? no. in fact, women are called to teach other women (2 timothy 2:3-5) and timothy himself was influenced greatly by female mentors (2 timothy 1:5, 3:14) and there are examples such as priscilla who were involved in explaining God's ways (acts 18:26). however, to what extent does the woman exercise authority?
paul refers to the order of creation to explain his position of male headship (1 timothy 2:13, 1 corinthians 11:8-9). in the genesis account (chapter 2), the LORD creates all the creatures of the earth and entrusts adam with the care of the garden of eden (2:15). but there was something missing - woman. so God created woman from adam...in a manner that causes woman and man to be intertwined at the base of their existence...truly 'flesh of my flesh' (2:23). eve was created to be a helper to adam- to support, encourage, correct, and empower him to live the life that God desired for him.
in the above passage from 1 timothy, paul also talks about the deception of eve (genesis 3). it is interesting to note that the serpent approached eve rather than adam. also interesting that eve did not stop to confer with adam about disobeying God's directive or that adam - who was with her at the time that she took the fruit - did not question her actions. do i believe that the serpent came to eve because she is more easily deceived? no. i believe that the serpent approached her because he could use the fact that she was submissive to her husband against her - meaning getting her to go out and make this desicion (with such tremendous consequences) without consulting her husband rather than allowing adam to make the 'executive decision'. perhaps eve was chaffing under this direction of her husband and perhaps not. but the fact that God calls out adam (3:9,11) and asks him what happened rather than eve, even though eve was the one to sin first. this points to adam being the one in charge, the one who carries the responsibility for the path that the family travels down.
this ties in with feminine submission...which is the point of the passage in 1 timothy. that women are to submit to the leadership of men. this concept is reinforced through ephesians 5:22-33. even though it deals specifically with husbands and wives, the call for women to respect their husbands is clear (5:33) and reflects the call to men to be leaders. to lead effectively, you must feel respected. following this is the realization that all female-male relationships should contain the same hierarchy...though you are not to submit to a man who is your coworker as you do to your husband or to your pastor, etc.
as for the final verse in the above passage, which seems to state that salvation is given through being a mother, paul is not referring to st. mary carrying Jesus as some people interpret it as. paul places the emphasis on the second part of the verse...on their faith, which is truly where salvation comes from. for women who are barren are surely saved. childbearing is a part of being a married, responsible woman - which was something that was an issue in the church that paul was writing to, which explains the motivation for bringing it up...to encourage the women to settle down and live lifes that were glorifying to God.
wow...that's a lot of typing...i'm learning a lot about male/female relationships, especially in marriage. and so it's a bit jumbled in my mind and doesn't flow out very clearly as i'm still processing and then adding more in all the time. it's a good time. =)
karen